Brussels, 28/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - You can wait 75 years for a glimpse of Halley's Comet, but did you know you can make one yourself in just a few minutes? All it takes is a mixture of day-old dry ice, water, mud and a few other components - and you have a comet of your very own. How cosmic is that? Learning how to make a comet with space scientists in London, creating a cloud with meteorologists in Bolzano, Italy, and exploring the San Antonio volcano with geologists in the Canary Islands are just a few of the highlights of the seventh Researchers' Night, taking place at a host of venues throughout Europe on the evening of Friday 28 September.
Nearly 350 cities, from Akureyri, in Iceland, to Nicosia, in Cyprus, will take part in the event, which will allow the general public to discover science in a fun way and will help create interest in research careers, through experiments, interactive science shows, visits to usually restricted research laboratories and the opportunity to try out complex equipment. During Researchers' Night, scientists from all disciplines take over public spaces - shopping malls, squares, historic monuments, parks and museums - to show people of all ages how their work impacts on daily life. Hundreds of events will take place in the member states of the EU and their neighbouring countries.
Researchers' Night is an action under the Marie Curie programme, which is funded in the EU to promote international research careers in Europe. The EU covers just over half of the overall costs of Researchers' Night, around €4 million (this year, the operation will cost some €7.5 million). (LC/transl.fl)